


Maintenance week

by Womble1



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: DIY, Gen, builders, planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28944057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Womble1/pseuds/Womble1
Summary: In my head Virgil ends up fixing everything and this is how I've resolved that in my head.
Kudos: 14





	Maintenance week

Several years ago Virgil had reached his limit of being the island's unofficial maintenance man. He should maybe have been flattered that his siblings thought that he could fix EVERYTHING, but really it was just exhausting. Sure Max could perform a lot of general cleaning and servicing, but there were limits and occasionally Brains liked to be able to have Max’s help himself, on account of being his robot after all. For obvious security reasons they couldn't just call out a handyman every time something needed fixing, and it really wasn't an optimal use of Brain’s and Virgil's time to try and fill that role. So a few years back Virgil had gone to Scott with a proposition, he would organise all the repairs and maintenance needed, but only for one week a year. When the week came around Virgil packed off his brothers and their Thunderbirds to various GDF bases, ready to answer any emergency calls as required. 

All requests had to be submitted ahead of that week, and get approval from both Virgil and Scott in a review meeting. OK, so it was around the kitchen table, but there was an agenda and everything.

New built in wardrobes for Grandmas room - Approved, although how many jumpsuits did one woman need hanging space for?

Hot Tub for Gordons balcony - not approved, don't be ridiculous, it wouldn't even fit!

Industrial deep clean for the ovens - Approved, absolutely essential after the last “meatloaf surprise”. 

New custom made blackout blinds for Johns room - Approved, although coming out of Gordon bank account since he ruined the last set by using a scalpel to mark out the constellations on them. A nice gesture, if he hadn't got them all out of alignment so not only could John not sleep because of the light pouring in, he was then annoyed at the inaccuracies.

Piano tuning, for obvious reasons - Approved, because otherwise Virgil would go on strike.

Professional deep clean of Gordon’s bedroom and ensuite - Approved, nobody had gone to check if it was actually needed, it was a safe assumption based on previous years experience, everyone agreed it was worth the price. Lady Penelope had found a company that usually specialised in crime scene clearance and Virgil booked them every year. 

Cinema sound system for Alan's room - Not Approved, nobody else wants to hear your gaming Alan, use headphones

Fresh paint for Kayos room - Approved, no Alan, it’s not favoritism, its strong survival instincts, do you want to tell her no?

Regrouting Scotts bathroom - Approved. Another one coming out of Gordons budget, since it was his prank of dye in the shower head that had stained the grouting to begin with and no amount of scrubbing with an old toothbrush as punishment had put it right.

New couch for Gordons room - what's wrong with the one you have? What do you mean you’ve lost it? Try moving some of the clothes then! - Not Approved.

Snack vending machine for Gordon’s Room - Not Approved. For a start, who do you think is going to refill it? And secondly, just no!

Wave machine for the pool - Not approved, Gordon, you're taking the piss now, you want waves, stay in the pool when Thunderbird 1 is launching.

Some professional glazers to deal with the masses of glass ceilings, if not maintained they were unlikely to weather tropical storms, and they would all be back to running around placing bowls and saucepans strategically about the rooms as the storms raged outside. They didn't want a repeat of that year, so Approved.

Full jet washing of the pool area, Thunderbird one might be technologically advanced, but it still left a mark. Virgil had to be quite imaginative when trying to explain the exhaust marks to the contractors. 

Eventually, when Scott's blood pressure was starting to peak, all works had been reviewed, and Virgil could get to work plotting all the jobs. There were lists, annotated floor plans and timelines, but it was all in hand. Virgil reassured Scott as he sent him off to park his ‘bird on an airbase where he still had some old air force buddies for the week. Better that he was out of the way, Scott would only follow the workmen and women around attempting to hurry things along, but in truth just putting everyone on edge. 

The others were far easier to get rid of, seeing it as something like a halfway house holiday. Gordon was camping out with Thunderbird 2 in the grounds of Lady Penelope’s country estate, along with Kayo and Thunderbird Shadow, should a co-pilot be needed in Virgil's absence. Penelope usually used the visit as an opportunity to try and entice Kayo into a wardrobe overhaul via some trips with personal shoppers, but Kayo was wise to that old trick now and would sometimes resort to actual camping in the parkland if she sensed the arrival of another stylist. 

John usually took Alan off to some Nasa facilities for a week of full space geekery, with Thunderbird 3 sat nearby as an excuse. Brains sometimes joined them, but more often booked himself into a few conferences, just to be away from the impending noise and mess.

Grandma booked a cruise, she had deserved an unlimited bar and all day buffet, she was quite happy to be far away from the chaos that was about to be unleashed on the island. Also best that Grandma was off the Island during the invasion, none of them wanted to deal with the fall out from Grandma getting mistaken for the “housekeeper” again. That company had not been used again.

The first year had just been Virgil running around the island on his own, but it had quickly escalated. Now Virgil booked in pre vetted contractors and flew them across from the mainland. Depending on the amount of work sometimes Virgil could be dealing with both day and night shifts, shuttling them across in Tracy 2 from the mainland. The hangars were locked down, and for all the workmen knew it was just a luxurious island holiday home for some pampered rich family. On more than one occasion Virgil had found himself awkwardly stuck between workmen contemplating what sort of people lived in a house like this, making all sorts of assumptions, whilst not realising that Virgil was “one of them posh gits” and not just the maintenance man on the island. Just as well they covered the family portraits in the lounge. 

Virgil dug out an old tea urn that Lady Penelope had given them as a hand me down years ago. A steady supply of tea and coffee was essential to keeping the job on schedule. As all the workers were essentially stuck on the island all day, Virgil also made sure there was a continuous pile of bacon sandwiches to keep everyone fueled, he got so much practice at making them that his brothers swore he had been known to whip up a round bacon sarnies whilst still asleep. 

By the end of the week all works were completed, a final professional deep clean and the villa looked ready to grace the pages of the glossy magazines. If only the same could be said of Virgil. His family arrived home to find him, covered in dust and grime, sprawled out on a sun lounger, snoring loudly. 

“Honestly, what has he been doing while we were gone?” Gordon asked, with mock reproach in his voice. They all knew it had been a busy week, their home had taken some serious wear and tear, and Virgil had managed to orchestrate the mammoth spring fix up that kept their home functional for another year, without the rest of the family needing to even lift a finger. But woe betide anyone who so much as whispered about any maintenance jobs for the next month, Virgil was officially on strike for the foreseeable. If Alan happened to slip on the freshly polished floor and smash an occasional table, the evidence was quickly hidden in little used storage space before the snoozing brother was awake enough to notice.


End file.
